I Hate Being Alone
by ThexCurus
Summary: Alexy once said that he didn't like being home alone, but one would wonder, why exactly does he not like it? And Candy is the one person determined enough to pry the answer from him. One-shot ArminxAlexy brotherly love


_**A/N **__- There isn't enough ArminxAlexy Brotherly Love fics out there so I'm gonna spend a long time making a shit ton of one-shots and stuff about these two overly adorable twins because damn son I love me some brotherly love stuff, especially with twins! :U Plus we've yet to see anything like that in MCL yet and I genuinely hope we do get a really sweet moment in the future where they show just how much one means to the other. l: _

_**Disclaimer**__ – I do not own MyCandyLove or any of its Characters. They are property of ChiNoMiko._

**oOo**

* * *

The final hours of class were wrapping up, and the students in the Science class were energetic as usual, chattering endlessly or wasting time for the final five minutes of class. In one corner, Amber and Li stared into their compacts, touching up their lipstick or mascara and enjoying their beauty in the small mirror, being the stunning queens they felt they were.

At the front, Violette worked away at a new picture, her art tools sprawled out across her desk with careful precision and organization as the timid artist patiently sketched away on her paper. Her moves were only hindered by the nervousness she felt as the gardener that often showed up at school standing beside her, more than fascinated by her work, and even more so since her piece was a garden scenery. The poor artist was afraid she'd make a mistake and have Jade make a comment about it.

Near the door, the temperamental false-red head seemed more than bored, slumped in his seat as he impatiently waited for the signal that school was finally over. His irritation and desire to leave was further pressed by the incessant hums of concentration beside him as the game obsessed half of the school's twins fervently tapped at his PSP's buttons, sucked into his game. Castiel was about ten seconds from taking that game away and chucking it right out of the second story window. There was a good chance he'd finally break Armin if he did so, and the idea was actually becoming very tempting…

In a classroom down below, the scene was hardly any different. Students were bored out of their minds as some sprawled their arms across their desks in anticipation of freedom from History. Kim, Iris, and Candy gave mimicked sounds of groaning as they stared at the clock, their textbooks forgotten beneath their arms as they nearly lay on their desks. Nearby, Melody and Nathanial, as the ever so diligent student body members, worked away at their left over notes and classwork, but it was still obvious that they too wanted to leave.

By the window, the two fashion-devoted students chattered away at what they knew best: Clothing. Rosalya had forced her desk beside Alexy's to further carry their conversation and the brightly dressed student had no problem with that. To them, the ending of the class – and any other classes they had together – went by fast, to where they wished it lasted longer so they could talk more.

"So, do you want to come with me after school to the boutique? Leigh just came up with some new ideas for a line of clothes and I think your input might really add some new flare that'll get customers lining up for miles!" The silver haired female seemed quite enthusiastic at the idea of her boyfriend's shop proving once more why it's the most popular clothing shop in all of Sweet Amoris, and since becoming such a close friend to Alexy, she had been trying to take her fellow companion's unique style and using it to further improve the boutiques line of clothes.

Giving a smile that showed just how flattered he was by her honesty, Alexy's rose pink eyes genuinely shined with the excitement of going to help the shop's owner, but he had to force a shake of his head and turn down the offer, "I'd really love to go, Rosalya, I really do." He said, "But, I need to head home with Armin. Our parents are working late tonight and I know that if I don't walk and stay home with Armin, he'll wander off to the arcade or something and I'll come home to find it empty and I just- I really don't like being home alone…" There was a falter in his smile as he said the last part of his sentence.

In the seats ahead of the two, Candy leaned against her chair and tilted her head back as much as she could to see the blue haired twin, "Hey Smurf," she called, "Not to pry or anything, but I remember you once saying that whole you don't like being home alone thing and I was wondering…Why _do_ you hate being home alone?" she asked, hair falling away from her face as she stared at Alexy.

"Oh, well…" Tugging and twirling at the cord of his headphones, Alexy gave a nervous laugh as he looked away, trying to come up with some explanation, "I mean- Erm, you see…" He was saved by the bell as it sounded and announced the release of the students. Not missing the chance to get away from explaining, Alexy stood up, bag being dragged off the ground with him as he did so, "Oh, look at that!" he said, "I gotta go, bye!" Before either Rosalya or Candy could even do or say anything, he was out the door and heading down the hallway, giving a heavy and relieved sigh as he went.

The crowd of free students did well in hiding him if Candy came after him. The girl was persistent after all, and Alexy had to give her points for that much. He headed to the double doors that separated him from the staircase and basement where he'd meet Armin to head home. Seeing them in sight, the music lover smiled to himself.

"Lex! Lexy, dammit, you wait one second! Wait!"

Stopping, Alexy turned back, tilting his head to one side as he tried to see Candy coming. She was shoving her way through the crowed. She forced apart a couple that stood together, receiving some ugly glares from them as a result, though she easily ignored them, having grown quite thick skin since moving to the school. The girl huffed in exhaustion as she finally caught up. Amused, the neon dressed student chuckled and leaned down to her now doubled-over panting form, hands on his hips, "Well hi there!" he greeted playfully, "Pooped?" he added with a snicker.

Candy smirked, glaring up at him, "Oh haha, Lex." She mocked jokingly before standing up straight, arms crossing over her small bust, "You know, I asked you a question and you also know I don't give up easily." She smiled, thought tried to hide it as she stood before him, "Come on, tell me. It's not like it'll end the world."

Still amused, and giving her even more points for remaining as the determined lady she was known to be, Alexy sighed slightly before shrugged, "Kay. Fine. Come on." Grabbing her arm, he lead her back the way they came to sit beside one of the rows of lockers, "You ready for a nice, long, boring story?" he asked as he sat down, tugging her with him.

"Hm, by the sound of it, you're entering stage one of being an old man." Candy teased before laughing, "Go on. I'm all ears."

The cheerful smile Alexy had suddenly began to go away as the students finished going past them. His body leaned against the wall. Candy watched him, and to her, it almost looked like he was waiting for everyone to just go away so he could speak to her. When the door at the end of the hallway shut and all the sound was trapped behind it, the blue haired boy gave a slow sigh, magenta eyes looking up somewhat, "So…I guess I should start." He said, and glanced back down to the girl at his side. "You can imagine that Armin and I are pretty close, right? Twin brothers, growing up together every day, hardly even fifteen minutes of age difference between us. We were treated the same, no favorites with our parents…But we're actually much closer now than we were back then, believe it or not…Back then, we could have spent an entire month away from each other and not even feel lonely or sad."

**- Years ago -**

'_We were about six or seven when things changed between us…When it changed for me. It was a weekend and Armin was sick that day, or at least Mom said he was. I remember he kept complaining really early in the morning that he had a headache and he threw up at least once. Mom thought it was some virus going around town, so she didn't let me go see him even though I wanted to see he was okay. He'd been playing this dumb video game for days before hand and really, I actually thought it was because of that game that he had a headache. Anyway…Armin stayed in bed all day, and he never came out. Dad had gone to work and Mom stayed home from work to take care of Armin instead of calling for the babysitter.' _

_The blue haired boy was seated in the living room, attention on the television but his mind only half aware of what he was watching. His rose eyes looked away from the television as he heard steps come down the staircase and he shifted to stand up on the cushions and peer over the back of the couch to watch his mother come down. Part of him wanted to voice his growing curiosity on his brother's condition, but he'd already asked earlier in the day and had been answered with a simple, 'He's alright. Don't worry about him.' And had then been sent off to occupy himself with his toys and such, reminded that Armin was being taken care of and was simply sleeping his headache off. _

'_I was fine with playing by myself all day, but it got boring after a while. I mean, there were only two of us, and while we had friends, we saw them enough at school. Weekends were our time so our friends were used to just not talking to us on those days. I did everything I could alone, but without Armin, it was like being in a completely empty world._

'_The day went by, and Armin didn't show his face downstairs for even a second. I knew something was wrong, though. Mom kept pacing around and fidgeting, always doing something with her hands whether it was fixing the seat cushions or washing something. She even began doing laundry even though there was hardly anything to wash. She was so worried that she accidentally dyed her best white blouse pink. By the time Dad came home, she was practically in a panic. They went upstairs together, and I stayed downstairs. They came down not even a minute after and told me that I'd have to stay home with the sitter while they took Armin to see the doctor. That was the first time I saw him all day. He looked awful…' _

_The curious boy stared up at his father, who explained to him that he would have to stay home while they left, and Alexy's eyes moved away from the man to look at his twin who lay in their mother's arms. The other boy was practically limp in his mother's hold, head rested against her chest as she held him with care. He was awake but the blue eyes of his were closed and his eyes were red and puffy from both the lack of sleep and the multiple times he'd cried in bed. He even looked somewhat pale and his body gave off the appearance of the pure exhaustion that he felt. With one look, anyone could see that something wasn't right with Armin._

'_I watched my dad call for my regular babysitter and he said that they'd be arriving in five minutes. They felt that it wasn't too much time alone for a kid, so they left and I sat right back down. It wasn't that late anyway. It was maybe six. The sun was still showing though it was getting a little dark outside. I didn't worry about a five minute wait…Except it turned out it wouldn't be five minutes. Not even ten or twenty. It'd be never. Nobody came by that night. No sitter, no mom or dad, no Armin. It was beyond quiet and way too empty for me. I was getting paranoid and scared…I hated it.' _

_For hours, the boy remained as he was, seated in the living room and glancing toward the door and window every so often, and as time went by, there was a growing fear and uneasiness showing in his eyes. He could see that outside, it was black as night. Finally reaching a new level of paranoia, Alexy lunged off the couch and tugged the curtains shut, feeling as though something was watching him. With the windows covered up, the boy slowly sat down on the ground, arms coming to wrap themselves around his knees as they pressed themselves against his chest. He could practically feel his pulse beating beneath his skin _

'_You might think it's normal for a kid to be scared of being home alone, but this was way over the line of normal fear. I realized then that I can't be alone. It gets too quiet, it gets tense in the air, and you begin to feel a weird kind of awkwardness by not having someone to talk to. And I think the thing that hit me harder than that realization was the fact that I learned just how much I needed Armin around. Sure, Mom and Dad were great company but they were adults. They worked and cooked and cleaned and had stuff to do that a kid can't take interest in, but with Armin, I had someone to play with and roam around with and relate to, and the fact he was my brother just made all of that even more important to me…I think that was one of the first times I really cried without stopping.' _

_A petrified Alexy looked to the clock with tear filled eyes, seeing that it was nearly eleven. Giving one more glance to the door, he dragged himself toward it and slowly flicked the lock, feeling a shard of security in knowing he was at least a little safer with the doors locked. He stood there a little longer, watching as though expecting to hear the car drive into the driveway or the jingle of the house keys as his father went to unlock the door, but neither of those sounds came, and he had to suppress another whimper from escaping his trembling lips. The boy stepped back a bit before going up the stairs. On his way to his bedroom, he paused at the room his brother stayed in and walked in slowly. He approached the bed, his steps cautious as he stumbled through the dark, and he slowly lifted the covers, hand coming out to feel around for anything. _

'_I was going to go to bed, but I stopped myself for a little while. Armin and I didn't share a bedroom. Our parents, thinking that some twins tend to form this insanely strong bond when they spend too much time together and later have trouble separating when their older, didn't want us to be like the stereotypical set of twins, and they let us have our own bedrooms to stay in at night. We were fine with that, though. But that night, I guess I just missed my brother so much, I almost wished that he was there in his room, sleeping…I actually thought that if I checked, he'd be right there, and he'd wake up and push me out of his room or something…But he wasn't.' _

_Disappointed, the already distraught Alexy gave that whimper from earlier a chance to show itself before he continued to his room, crawling under his covers fully dressed and only stopping long enough to pull off his shoes. Yanking the covers up and over his head, he shut his eyes and hid away beneath the blankets, vision blocked to avoid seeing the door, the same paranoia from before still lingering. _

'_I think I dosed off for a while because I woke up a bit later and hearing my dad sounding upset downstairs. I guess he was yelling at the sitter who never showed. I didn't know what time it was, but it was still way dark outside my window, and I never thought I'd be happy to hear my parent's voices, even if they were shouting.' _

_Realizing his hours of solitude were over, Alexy suddenly sat up in bed, ready to run downstairs to find comfort in his mother or father. However, he cancelled those plans when he saw his brother in the doorway, leaning against its frame. Armin stood there, expression still showing that he was still out of sorts, but he was looking at Alexy regardless and he made a small smile appear for his younger twin. Alexy returned it without hesitation before he tossed his covers off the bed and opened his arms as though asking for a hug. _

'_I was probably more excited to see Armin again. He was okay and I wasn't alone anymore. That's all that really mattered to me.' _

_The two siblings lay face to face in the single bed, the younger of the two latched on to the older. _

"_Were you scared?" _

_The question from Armin was a surprising one but Alexy was honest with his twin, "Yeah…Nobody came by. It was quiet and lonely." _

"_I'm sorry." _

"_Armin, I don't like being alone…" _

"_It's okay. You're not alone now." _

"_Armin…?" _

"_What?" _

"…_Please promise me that you'll never leave me alone. Not at home or anywhere else. As long as you're with me…I won't be scared. Can you promise that…?" Alexy felt the arms around him tighten up, and he did the same to Armin. _

"_I promise. If it means not letting you get scared, then I'll be with you whenever you need me. Kay?" _

"_Thanks…" _

'_That was the first time either of us refused to sleep apart. Armin knew I was scared, and even though he was still sick, he still made sure I was okay. Ever since then, he has tried to be with me whenever he knew I was going to be alone. Being alone makes me nervous. It makes me feel isolated and as though everyone in the world has disappeared. It's like…A horrible feeling of emptiness from the outside.' _

**-The Present- **

"So, that's it. I'm scared of being left alone. I can't stand it and I never want to feel that loneliness ever again."

Candy stayed quiet for a moment, processing the story she had been told before lifting her head to look at Alexy, "Armin really looks out for you, doesn't he?" she asked.

"Yeah. He's my older brother. He has to watch over me. That's what older siblings do, you know?"

"But he does it not just because he's your brother, but because you mean a lot to him and he doesn't want to see you upset. He wants to keep you from being scared."

"Maybe." Giving a shrug, Alexy sighed before standing up, stretching his arms above his head, "Well, you really ate up some of my time. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" he said before smiling at the girl and helping her off the floor, "I have to go find Armin. He must be lost or something without me."

Nodding, Candy smiled right back at the blue haired boy, "Kay. I'll see you tomorrow." Giving him a wave, she watched him walk past her. She then called out, "Hey Lex!" When Alexy turned to her with a brow raised, the girl smiled, "Thanks…For telling me that. For opening up a little bit."

Puzzled for a split second, Alexy understood quickly and he slowly smiled to the girl, "You're my friend. You were curious, so I thought it was okay to tell you." Giving one last wave to Candy, the male fashionista set off and passed by the double doors, stepping up to the staircase located right in front of them. By now, all students had left and the hallway was bare and still.

"Armin?" Calling out, Alexy frowned to himself, "Hey Armin! Are you still here?" He moved to peer up the stairs, "Armin!" He then tried to check the basement but found the door to be completely locked, "…Did he leave?" He mused to himself before he sighed, slowly feeling his mood dampen, "…Armin. Where'd you go?" Knowing full well that is brother would have answered had he been waiting, Alexy made himself head outside to the courtyard, intent on going home by himself.

Leaving the school property, the saddened teenager gave another unhappy sigh as he walked down the sidewalk. Home wasn't so far for him but it was a long walk when he had no sibling at his side. There wasn't a single conversation as he trudged home. He really hoped Armin was at their house, though. The idea of arriving to an empty dwelling was already making his stomach in a knot that was tighter than the scarf around Armin's neck.

At the school, Candy was just coming out of the building when she nearly rammed into someone. "Watch it!" she snapped as she stumbled back, nearly falling over until she was grabbed by her arms and held steady. She was stared at by panicked and frantic blue eyes, "A-…Armin?"

"Candy! Have you seen Alexy?" The raven haired twin held the girl's shoulders as he looked at her before he looked quickly around the courtyard, "I've been looking for him all over the school but I haven't seen him."

Confused, the girl frowned as her arms were released and she watched Armin pace around, a hand running through his hair, "Lex? He left not that long ago. I thought he went to go find you?"

"Well he never showed up at the staircase and I haven't seen him around."

"Maybe he just went home…"

"No, Alex wouldn't go without me. He doesn't." The way Armin had called his brother 'Alex' and not 'Alexy' sounded very strange to Candy. The sound was actually very foreign for her ears. She was so used to everyone just saying the playful version of the fashionista's name that when the more serious version was said, it was like discovering some new word in the dictionary. "I hope he did go home though…I'm gonna go see if he's there."

"Kay…Relax, Armin. I'm sure he's okay." It was hard for the girl to figure out how to calm the normal cheery student. Armin was rarely ever upset by anything and if he ever was, it wasn't about Alexy and he was never this frantic. Reaching out, Candy placed her hand on his shoulder, moving close to him, "He told me, you know. About his fear of being alone and how he realized that he really needs you around…You two really seem to look out for each other."

The anxiety etched on Armin's face slowly went away, replaced by a very light smile, "Yeah…We do. He's my little brother, and I have to take care of him, or nobody else will." He chuckled somewhat, shoulders shrugging slightly, "That's why I have to go find him before he freaks out again. I promised him that I'd never leave him alone, and I intend to keep that promise." Sparing one more smile, the gamer ruffled Candy's hair before running off.

When Armin sped off, a horrible crack sounded on the ground between them but he didn't seem to stop to look back, only kept running out of the courtyard and down the street. Looking down to find the source, Candy bent over and picked up the now terribly scratched up PSP, "Hey, Armin!" she tried to call him back but he was long gone by then. Looking back down, she found it to be amazing that the twin wouldn't come back to check his game's condition, "…Maybe Alexy really does mean a lot to him." She mused to herself before pocketing the console and leaving as well.

**oOo**

The front door of the home opened, and Alexy stepped in slowly. He poked his head in before finally entering, "Armin?" he called, shutting the door behind him, "I'm home." His shoes made little sound on the floor as he walked to the kitchen, looking inside, "Are you here?" he kept calling out, and slowly grew more and more uneasy, "Armin! Come on, this is really not fucking funny!" he began to shout, and allowed himself to slowly give in to anger, "I know you're here! Dammit, answer me!" The familiar paranoia he always felt as a child when alone was becoming something much more terrifying.

The upset fashion lover stormed to the stairs, running up them, "Armin, please answer me!" He nearly slipped on the decorative rug in the hall as he nearly ran to his brother's bedroom, "Armin?" To his disdain, the bedroom was empty, and no sign of the twin was there, "Armin…" Wring his hands together, Alexy chewed his lip, palms slowly becoming sweaty as he back up into the hall once more. He was home all alone, just like before. "Armin…Please come out." He kept asking for the older twin to show himself, still believing this was just some funny little game Armin had concocted, and by now, he really _hoped_ it was a game, "You're pretty funny for thinking this up, you know…Real funny." A forced laugh came out of his shaking lips before he pressed his shoulder to the wall just in front of the stairs, hands now rubbing his arms and gripping and pulling his neon orange sleeves, "I…I gotta hand it to you." He continued before slowly sitting down on the top step, "It…It's really funny." He was making himself laugh, thinking that if he played pretend long enough, he could last a while before his brother really did come home. "Funny…You're funny." It didn't take long for Alexy to break, though. Slowly shaking, he finally took an inhale and let it out, but it came out as a horrible strangle whimper. His nervous hands continued to wring his sleeves before moving to grip at his jeans, face burying itself into his knees.

What felt like hours was really just a few minutes as Alexy sat there, allowing himself to fall back into despair as he sat on the stairs. The name of his brother continued to come from his mouth as he held himself. A horrible kind of silence enveloped him as he remained in this empty home and he was getting sick from it. He felt a new kind of emptiness outside of his body and it was constricting him like a vice, squeezing his being in his least favorite way.

What broke this rainy mood was the sound of the front door's knob turning. Rose eyes quickly looked to the door before his fear made him react, practically lunging down the entire staircase and to the front door. It only opened a fraction before he threw himself into it, forcing it shut once more, and a small yelp coming from the other side. Trembling, Alexy remained against the door, breaths coming out in shaky huffs. Realizing just how horrible his paranoia had become, he went back to sitting, this time keeping his body against the door. He didn't hear anything else outside for a while until he heard a gentle knock right against his ear.

"Alex…Alex, it's just me."

Alexy was torn between feeling relieved and feeling angry at Armin as he heard his voice.

"Alexy, I was scared I wouldn't find you here. I was looking for you at school. I'm sorry I didn't find you." There was a heavy tone of apology in Armin's voice as he spoke, "Open the door, Alex. It's okay." On his side of the door, Armin was sitting in the same position Alexy was, his head against the door just as Alexy's was, and if the door wasn't there, the two would be face to face perfectly. He listened in silence before he finally heard shuffling inside their home. Standing up, Armin waited until Alexy had opened the door before he rushed in, shutting the door right away before yanking his twin into a tight hug, arms going firmly around the younger's shoulders, and Alexy didn't hesitate in returning it, his own arms going around Armin's waist.

Armin stayed still as he held Alexy, hearing quiet sniffles against his shoulder. He brought a hand up and pet the smooth blue hair of his sibling, "Shh, it's alright, Alex." He whispered, trying to shush his twin, "I'm sorry I wasn't here with you, but it's fine now."

Fingers held the violet vest tightly as Alexy clung to Armin. He buried his face into the scarf his doppelganger wore day to day, more than relieved to feel the material. His hold slowly loosened until his arms dropped to his side and he lifted his head, magenta eyes rimmed red from tears. He sniffled slightly before he had the stray streams of tears be wiped off by Armin, the older twin using his thumb to clear the fashionista's face. "…I'm sorry that I didn't wait for you to find me." He apologized, giving another sniff.

"Hey, it's okay. I found you in the end, didn't I?" A smile showed up on the gamer's face and he gave another hug to the younger sibling, once more bringing his hand up and messing up the cerulean hair before leaning away to looked him in the eyes, "I told you before, I promise to never leave you alone, and I intend to keep that promise no matter what." When he saw the last bit of distress fade from his brother's face, it gave him relief, "Hey, how about you and I go out to the mall and you can get me some new clothes? Does that sound good?" He knew that out of all the things Alexy did in life, shopping was one thing he loved, and even more so when it was shopping for someone else. If it made his brother happy, then Armin didn't mind putting up with a few hours at the mall and letting his twin loose in a clothing store.

Pink eyes slowly lit up before Armin gave a suppressed smile, trying to contain his excitement. He gave a small nod in response before grabbing on to his brother's arm, "Okay. That'd be really fun." He knew that Armin was going this just to make him happy, though. It wasn't any secret that his brother hated being dragged around and dressed up, but there was one more thing he hated, too. Alexy suddenly grinned before pinching his brothers cheeks and tugging slightly, earning a pained yelp as he did so, "You know how much I like dressing up my little doll!" he teased before letting go, watching as Armin whined and rubbed his now red face.

"Don't make me regret letting you take me to the mall…" The raven mumbled, pouting before he grabbed Alexy's hand and pulling him out of the house, "Now let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get the shopping over with."

As they walked to the bus stop, Alexy latched his arms around Armin's, "Armin?" he asked.

"What?"

"Don't ever leave me alone."

Blue eyes glanced down to meet rose ones and Armin grinned slightly, "Promise. I have to take care of my little brother." He said and playfully pulled his arm free and wrapped it around the music lover's shoulders, "My overly cheery, fashion obsessed, gay little brother." He added and laughed when he felt an elbow lightly jab his ribs. This was his twin, and despite being the same age, he knew full well that his job was to take care of his little brother, even if it meant trying to be at his side every day of his life. Armin didn't mind. As long as Alexy was happy, he could care less about how much time he spent attached to his side.

'_That's what big brothers do. They make sure their little brothers are happy.'_

**oOo**

* * *

**A/N** -_ Yiss, I finally finished this. uwu I crave me some brotherly love even though this was sloppily done. Anyway, enjoy this pile of crap one-shot as I go and try to come up with the rest of the plots for my other MCL fics and one-shots in the making. _

_Reviews would be lovely. Spark some inspiration in me!_


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